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13 May 2014, 23:29

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Dear ISB applicants,

We are pleased to offer absolutely free advice on questions related to the ISB essays for 2014 and the ISB application through this thread. We will also be helping applicants to evaluate different aspects of their profile and its overall suitability for ISB. All advice will be provided by top ISB alumni consultants at GyanOne.

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17 May 2014, 22:31

Hi GyanOne,

Please let me know my chances at ISB and other Asian bschools (If I may ask that here)

Work Ex till date - Close to 6 years in marketing research and analytics. Worked with several clients in diverse industries across the world. - Leading a team of 4 to manage various projects and clients independently

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20 May 2014, 02:20

Hi Ktarun579,

Thanks for posting. Your overall profile is very good and you should definitely proceed with applying to ISB this year. Some of the other schools that you can look at in Asia are the IIM experienced-intake programs and NUS/Nanyang (Singapore).

In terms of work experience, you are well-placed with 6+ years in a business-centric function. If you have worked in quasi-consulting assignments in addition to traditional business research projects, do highlight that as well. You seem to have some leadership experience as well and you should be sure to make a mention of that.

In terms of acads and GMAT score, you are quite well-placed.

Under ECA, you need to bring out stronger elements under Placement involvement (what did you achieve - just participation is not enough) and go deeper into the kind of awards you have got. Remember that professional recognitions and team awards received at work are all professional and you cannot use those under ECA. The photography aspect looks quite interesting and you should focus more on that as it will help to differentiate you more.

Feel free to come back with follow-up questions on this.
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30 May 2014, 05:04

Hi GyanOne,

Please evaluate my profile for ISB.

GMAT: 680Acads: Btech from Jadavpur University, GPA: 7.2Work experience: 4 years in a public sector organization, with good leadership experience (led team of 4 for various assignments across India)ECA: Active member of Toastmasters, NGO experience (helping special children with their studies on weekends), Won a few debate competitions in college.

Would want to move out of public sector and join a private company with a management role post MBA. Please let me know my chances. Do I need to retake the GMAT?

Thanks for the help in advance. Please let me know of any other information that you need.

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We will need more information to help you out here - what does the organization that you work for do? Also, what is your specific role all about and what have you spent the last four years on?

From the information that you have provided, your profile seems to be around average. Public sector experience is a differentiator, and if you have got some solid professional achievements, this should stand you in good stead. You have led teams, and this leadership experience will definitely count. In case you have worked on some projects or processes that have been innovative or brought greater efficiency to your organization (there is sometimes more scope to do that in public sector organizations, though less authority), you should be sure to mention those in essay 1. See http://www.gyanone.com/isb-essays-2014-15/ for a detailed analysis of the ISB essays 2014.

In terms of academics, your GPA is decent but not outstanding. Your GMAT score is significantly below ISB's average. While there are people who make it to ISB every year with similar scores, we would recommend a GMAT retake to take your score over 700.

Looking at ECA, we do not see any out of the ordinary experience or achievements there either. How long have you been associated with the NGO and what are the initiatives you have been a part of? College debate competitions may not count for much unless these were consistent and at some major level. Could your provide more context around these?

In terms of switching to the private sector, an MBA will certainly help you do that. Every year, we work with a number of clients from the public sector and see them get into great private sector roles post-ISB, in companies ranging from consulting firms to consumer goods majors (HUL et al) and even large conglomerates (Aditya Birla group, for instance).
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02 Jun 2014, 23:04

Hi,

I just want to know about recommendation letters. How should I get them? It should be from organisation you worked. As there are some people who worked with me and than they left the company as the project is finished.

In that case can I produce recommendation letter from them, Or is it specific that I should get the recommendation letter from the employees who are still working with my previous company.
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02 Jun 2014, 23:22

Quote:

Hi,

I just want to know about recommendation letters. How should I get them? It should be from organisation you worked. As there are some people who worked with me and than they left the company as the project is finished.

In that case can I produce recommendation letter from them, Or is it specific that I should get the recommendation letter from the employees who are still working with my previous company.

Hi Manu,

The general principle that should be followed with respect to letters of recommendation is that your recommender should have had a chance to work with you and observe you over a significant length of time (at least an year, though more is recommended). Further, you should try and get recommendations from people who have worked with you more recently (if possible, over the last 1-2 years, but not further back than 3 years). This is because it is people who have worked more recently with you who will be able to provide a better assessment of your current capabilities.

It is not a problem if the person you are thinking of approaching for a recommendation meets these criteria but is no longer part of your current organization.

Hope this clarifies. Please feel free to ask further if anything is not clear.

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02 Jul 2014, 22:44

Hi ISBAspirant2014,

Here is our assessment of your profile:

In terms of academics, you are just about a bit above average. 67% is short of distinction, and you are not from top tier engineering colleges like the IITs or the NITs. A GMAT score of 700 is decent, especially given the fact that you come from the public sector with ~5 years of experience.

In terms of diversity, your work in a public sector company together with the fact that you travel to remote areas will lend diversity to your profile for sure. Your stories there will be very important to your overall candidature and your differentiation will come from there.

Your ECA may not be an issue by itself, but your overall profile will depend on the awards/recognitions/achievements you have. We do not have enough information on that based on what you have posted.
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05 Aug 2014, 08:07

Is ISB Worth it? 5 reasons Why it is

Is ISB worth it? Is ISB good? Is it value for money and effort? These questions are now not as uncommon as they once were. In this post, we try to address this issue, presenting five reasons for why we believe ISB continues to be a premium school. In our opinion not only is ISB good, but it is a great school and has some excellent factors going for it.

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07 Aug 2014, 23:05

Five myths about ISB MBA Admissions busted!

It is that time of the year when ISB Admissions are the talk of the town again among serious MBA applicants from India. As ISB has become more popular over the years, a number of myths around the admissions process at ISB have also surfaced. Over time, some of these have become almost unofficial ‘rules’ that one must follow to tread the path of an ISB admissions successfully. In this post, we bust five of these myths to help ISB applicants avoid making decisions based on hearsay and rumors.

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11 Aug 2014, 11:16

Hello Friend,

Please provide me profile evaluation :

GMAT Score : 690 (Q46, V 38, IR 1 ( this came as a shocker to me, never scored this low even in mocks !!! AWA : awaited )

10th : 86.5% (Maharashtra State Board)12th : 84.5 % (Maharashtra State Board)BE Mechanical Engg from VIT, Pune. Aggregate of four years : 60.21 %WE : 53 months. First 32 months with a Tata group company in auto component manufacturing industry. I was in Strategic Sourcing function. It was a techno-commercial job which involved managing complete supply chain of auto components (annual volume : 2 Lakhs unit) from India to a Europe. "New Product Development" was a significant part of my job. Have actually worked on shop-floor of many small Indian manufacturers (who were my suppliers) and have very good knowledge of various manufacturing and quality processes.Since last 21 months I have been working with a Godrej group company. Here the role is more commercial however the job is more strategic because of very high scales of operation. Responsible for total commodity purchases (metals, polymers and chemicals) worth Rs 400 Crs (that's a huge buy-value for a guy with mere 4.5 years of experience). Job also involves significant monitoring of global economic events which affect Indian Rupee and global commodities prices. New product development remains the same.

EC :1. (I am not sure whether this will be considered under EC) : Since last 2 and half years, I have been a very active stock market trader (events oriented trading in options). Learnt about all trading instruments (cash and derivatives) on my own. Have done significant study of various technical indicators and chart reading techniques. This is my biggest passion. Recently I have started an offline forum to educate people about stock market and various instruments available to them. This is purely educational forum. Soon will be launching my own website to take forward on a bigger scale (I don't intend to make money on it though).2. I have been playing guitar since last 7 years. Have participated in couple of shows with a small band. Used to teach guitar to beginners (almost for 6 moths). Completed grade 1 exam of Trinity School of Music, London. Free-lance guitarist since last 4 years.3. Represented my company in "Tata Business Leadership Award" in year 2012. Our team was selected in top 8 from Western Zone.4. Couple of awards for outstanding contributions to New Product Development.5. Won a national level technical event during graduation. This was related to developing an innovative product with maximum number of energy conversions.6. Won many state level competitive exams securing ranks in top 10 at district level (school level achievements).

I have already had a counselling call with ISB team. I was worried about my low IR score. However, the guy said ISB wont consider IR score hence I need not worry about it. However, I am still anxious since the score is least possible you could get in IR...

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26 Aug 2014, 10:55

Life at ISB: Akshay Gupta on his days at ISB Mohali

One can never imagine life at ISB till one actually gets there. At the time that I joined ISB, I had many questions in mind. Was my decision right or wrong? After having 7 years of experience, will I be comfortable studying? How will I adjust because I am going to college after such a loooong time………? How will I live without my family and with new friends? The list is never ending. All the ifs and buts gradually faded away once I started my roller coaster ride. Now after completing my journey of four weeks@ ISB, I can say with confidence — “Yes, it’s true. ISB is what—- it claims to be.” Life at ISB is indeed great.

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GMAT Score : 690 (Q46, V 38, IR 1 ( this came as a shocker to me, never scored this low even in mocks !!! AWA : awaited )

10th : 86.5% (Maharashtra State Board)12th : 84.5 % (Maharashtra State Board)BE Mechanical Engg from VIT, Pune. Aggregate of four years : 60.21 %WE : 53 months. First 32 months with a Tata group company in auto component manufacturing industry. I was in Strategic Sourcing function. It was a techno-commercial job which involved managing complete supply chain of auto components (annual volume : 2 Lakhs unit) from India to a Europe. "New Product Development" was a significant part of my job. Have actually worked on shop-floor of many small Indian manufacturers (who were my suppliers) and have very good knowledge of various manufacturing and quality processes.Since last 21 months I have been working with a Godrej group company. Here the role is more commercial however the job is more strategic because of very high scales of operation. Responsible for total commodity purchases (metals, polymers and chemicals) worth Rs 400 Crs (that's a huge buy-value for a guy with mere 4.5 years of experience). Job also involves significant monitoring of global economic events which affect Indian Rupee and global commodities prices. New product development remains the same.

EC :1. (I am not sure whether this will be considered under EC) : Since last 2 and half years, I have been a very active stock market trader (events oriented trading in options). Learnt about all trading instruments (cash and derivatives) on my own. Have done significant study of various technical indicators and chart reading techniques. This is my biggest passion. Recently I have started an offline forum to educate people about stock market and various instruments available to them. This is purely educational forum. Soon will be launching my own website to take forward on a bigger scale (I don't intend to make money on it though).2. I have been playing guitar since last 7 years. Have participated in couple of shows with a small band. Used to teach guitar to beginners (almost for 6 moths). Completed grade 1 exam of Trinity School of Music, London. Free-lance guitarist since last 4 years.3. Represented my company in "Tata Business Leadership Award" in year 2012. Our team was selected in top 8 from Western Zone.4. Couple of awards for outstanding contributions to New Product Development.5. Won a national level technical event during graduation. This was related to developing an innovative product with maximum number of energy conversions.6. Won many state level competitive exams securing ranks in top 10 at district level (school level achievements).

I have already had a counselling call with ISB team. I was worried about my low IR score. However, the guy said ISB wont consider IR score hence I need not worry about it. However, I am still anxious since the score is least possible you could get in IR...

Your valuable feedback will highly be appreciated.

Regards,Vaibhav

Hi Vaibhav,

Apologies for the delay here. Somehow this slipped off the radar.

In terms of your profile, here is our assessment: You seem to be pretty solid when it comes to your professional experience and your initiatives and achievements at work. Your S2C experience at Tata is noteworthy. At Godrej too, you demonstrate significant responsibility, good business exposure, and strong overall performance. Some such roles are similar to what quite a few MBA graduates (including ISB graduates) get into through after rotations in leadership programs for firms like Godrej and Airtel.

Your extra-curricular achievements are good as well. The stock trading example is more of an activity at the moment, not really an EC achievement, though the next steps you define for that seem interesting. The guitar perspective seems great too. Please note that points 3 and 4 under EC aren't EC achievements or activities but instead professional achievement and so should be slotted as such. Point 6 is fine, but a bit dated by now.

Overall, the only slight question mark on your profile seems to be your GMAT score. Although it is certainly not an application-killer, if you could raise it by a further 20-30 points through a retake you will further enhance your chances. On IR, different schools view it differently, and we do not see the IR score yet being a factor large enough to influence an application decision. In case there was something unusual that happened which caused you to get this low an IR score, you may mention it in your ISB optional essay.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with follow-up questions on this.
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You are certainly well set for ISB YLP. After our initial conversation on email around your candidature at ISB, hope you have created a firm plan for YLP and other similar programs. How are you doing and how are the applications shaping up?

Do feel free to come back with queries either here or on email.
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